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→‎Name selection: Sorry; forgot to fix this. "Japanese texts" implies "日本語の書類".
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The components of the new Reiwa glyph are not "half-width" characters in the sense that term is usually used. They are simply squashed.
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===Technology===
===Technology===
Anticipating the coming of the new era, in September 2018, the [[Unicode Consortium]] reserved a [[code point]] ({{unichar|32ff|SQUARE ERA NAME REIWA}})<ref name="adobe-unicode-reiwa">{{cite web |last1=Lunde |first1=Ken |title=Adobe-Japan1-7 Published! |url=https://blogs.adobe.com/CCJKType/2019/04/aj17-published.html |website=CJK Type Blog |publisher=Adobe |accessdate=2 April 2019 |date=1 April 2019}}</ref> for a new [[glyph]] which will combine [[halfwidth]] versions of ''Reiwa''{{'s}} kanji, {{lang|ja|令}} and {{lang|ja|和}}, into a single full-width character; similar code points exist for the Shōwa ({{unichar|337C|SQUARE ERA NAME SYOUWA}}) and Heisei ({{unichar|337B|SQUARE ERA NAME HEISEI}}) periods.<ref name="unicode">{{cite web |title=New Japanese Era |url=http://blog.unicode.org/2018/09/new-japanese-era.html |website=The Unicode Blog |publisher=Unicode Consortium |accessdate=1 April 2019 |date=2018-09-06}}</ref> The resulting new version of [[Unicode]], 12.1.0, is scheduled to be released on May 7, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Unicode 12.1.0 |url=https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode12.1.0/ |publisher=The Unicode Consortium |accessdate=2 April 2019}}</ref>
Anticipating the coming of the new era, in September 2018, the [[Unicode Consortium]] reserved a [[code point]] ({{unichar|32ff|SQUARE ERA NAME REIWA}})<ref name="adobe-unicode-reiwa">{{cite web |last1=Lunde |first1=Ken |title=Adobe-Japan1-7 Published! |url=https://blogs.adobe.com/CCJKType/2019/04/aj17-published.html |website=CJK Type Blog |publisher=Adobe |accessdate=2 April 2019 |date=1 April 2019}}</ref> for a new [[glyph]] which will combine half-width versions of ''Reiwa''{{'s}} kanji, {{lang|ja|令}} and {{lang|ja|和}}, into a single character; similar code points exist for earlier era names, including Shōwa ({{unichar|337C|SQUARE ERA NAME SYOUWA}}) and Heisei ({{unichar|337B|SQUARE ERA NAME HEISEI}}) periods.<ref name="unicode">{{cite web |title=New Japanese Era |url=http://blog.unicode.org/2018/09/new-japanese-era.html |website=The Unicode Blog |publisher=Unicode Consortium |accessdate=1 April 2019 |date=2018-09-06}}</ref> The resulting new version of [[Unicode]], 12.1.0, is scheduled to be released on May 7, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Unicode 12.1.0 |url=https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode12.1.0/ |publisher=The Unicode Consortium |accessdate=2 April 2019}}</ref>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 14:29, 20 April 2019

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Topics
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announces the new Imperial era "Reiwa" to the press.
Japanese office workers watching the announcement on live televised broadcast

The Reiwa period (Japanese: 令和時代, Hepburn: Reiwa jidai)[1] will be the next era of Japan. The period is expected to start on 1 May 2019,[2] the day when Emperor Akihito's elder son, Naruhito, is expected to ascend to the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. Emperor Akihito is expected to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne on 30 April 2019, marking the end of Heisei period. The year 2019 corresponds to Heisei 31 until 30 April, and Reiwa 1 (令和元年, Reiwa gannen, "the first year of Reiwa") from 1 May 2019.[3]

Background

Name selection

A shortlist of names was drawn up by a nine-member expert panel comprising seven men and two women, and the cabinet selected the final name from the shortlist.[4] The nine experts were:[5][6]

The day after the announcement, the government revealed that the other candidate names under consideration had been Eikō (英弘[7]), Kyūka[8] (久化), Kōshi or Kōji[7][9] (広至), Banna or Banwa[7][9] (万和), and Banpo or Banhō[7][9] (万保),[10] three of which were sourced from two Japanese works, the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki.[11] Official pronunications of these names were not released, although the reading of Eikō was leaked; the other readings are speculative.[9]

A crowd watching the televised announcement on a giant screen next to Shinjuku Station

Announcement

The Japanese government announced the name during a live televised press conference, as Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga traditionally revealed the kanji calligraphy on a board.[12][13] Prime Minister Shinzō Abe said that Reiwa represents "a culture being born and nurtured by people coming together beautifully".[6]

Origin and meaning

Plum blossoms in Minabe, Wakayama

The kanji characters for Reiwa are derived from the Man'yōshū, an eighth-century (Nara period) anthology of waka poetry. The headnote attached to a group of 32 poems (815–846) in Volume 5 of the collection, composed on the occasion of a poetic gathering to view the plum blossoms, reads as follows:[citation needed]

Original Kanbun text: 于時、初春令月、氣淑風和、梅披鏡前之粉、蘭薫珮後之香。[14]

Classical Japanese translation (kanbun kundoku): 時(toki)に(ni)、初(sho)春(shun)の(no)令(rei)月(getsu)に(ni)し(shi)て(te)、気(ki)淑(yo)く(ku)風(kaze)和(yawara)ぎ(gi)、梅(ume)は(wa)鏡(kyō)前(zen)の(no)粉(ko)を(o)披(hira)き(ki)、蘭(ran)は(wa)珮(hai)後(go)の(no)香(kō)を(o)薫(kaora)す(su)。[15]

English translation:

It was in new spring, in a fair ("Rei") month,
When the air was clear and the wind a gentle ("wa") breeze.
Plum flowers blossomed a beauty's charming white

And the fragrance of the orchids was their sweet perfume.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry provided an English-language interpretation of Reiwa as "beautiful harmony", to dispel reports that "Rei" (令) translated as "command" or "order". However, the Foreign Ministry also noted that "beautiful harmony" is neither an official translation nor legally binding.[16]

Novelty

Extract of Volume 5 of the Man'yōshū where the kanji characters for "Reiwa" are derived

In addition, the characters mark the first time a Japanese era name with characters that were taken from Japanese classical literature instead of classic Chinese literature.[6][17][better source needed][18] The Chinese foreign ministry responded to a question related to this matter from Japanese media saying that it is Japan's internal affair to choose an era name but expressed good wishes concerning the Sino-Japanese relationship.[19]

According to Masaaki Tatsumi (辰巳正明) and Masaharu Mizukami (水上雅晴), interviewed by the Asahi Shimbun shortly after the announcement was made, the phrase has an earlier source in ancient Chinese literature dating back to the 2nd century AD, on which the Man'yōshū usage is allegedly based[20]

於是仲春令月，時和氣清；原隰鬱茂，百草滋榮。 (Right now is an auspicious moon in the middle of spring. It is calm, the air is clear, the lands are damp, thick with many plants and flowers.)

— Zhang Heng, Return to the Field

Robert Campbell, director-general of National Institute of Japanese Literature in Tokyo, provided an official televised interpretation to NHK national broadcasting group organization, regarding the characters based on the poem,[clarification needed] noting that "Rei" is an auspicious wave of energy of the plum blossoms carried by the wind, and "Wa", the general character of peace and tranquility.[21][citation needed]

Accordingly, the name marks the 248th era name designated in Japanese history.[6][22] While the "wa" character 和 has been used in 19 previous era names, the "rei" character 令 has never appeared before.[23]

Implementation

Currency

According to the Japan Mint, which is responsible for producing Japanese currency, all coins with the new era name will be released by October 2019. It takes three months to do preparations such as creating molds in order to input text or pictures. The Mint will prioritize creating 100- and 500-yen coins due to their high mintage and circulation, with an anticipated release by the end of July 2019.[24]

Technology

Anticipating the coming of the new era, in September 2018, the Unicode Consortium reserved a code point (U+32FF ㋿ SQUARE ERA NAME REIWA)[25] for a new glyph which will combine half-width versions of Reiwa's kanji, 令 and 和, into a single character; similar code points exist for earlier era names, including Shōwa (U+337C ㍼ SQUARE ERA NAME SYOUWA) and Heisei (U+337B ㍻ SQUARE ERA NAME HEISEI) periods.[26] The resulting new version of Unicode, 12.1.0, is scheduled to be released on May 7, 2019.[27]

References

  1. ^ "新元号「令和（れいわ）」　出典は万葉集" (in Japanese). 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  2. ^ McCurry, Justin (1 April 2019). "Reiwa: Japan prepares to enter new era of 'fortunate harmony'". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  3. ^ "New Japanese imperial era Reiwa takes name from ancient poetry". Reuters. 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  4. ^ Rich, Motoko (1 April 2019). "Japan's New Era Gets a Name, but No One Can Agree What It Means". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  5. ^ "「元号」有識者懇メンバー9人発表 " (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. 1 April 2019. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d "Japan names new imperial era beginning May 1 "Reiwa"". Kyodo News. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d "新元号 ６原案中４つは 「英弘」「広至」「万和」「万保」". NHK News Web (in Japanese). 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
  8. ^ "Banna, Banpo, Eiko, Koshi and Kyuka: The Japan eras that could have been, beaten out by Reiwa". The Japan Times. 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  9. ^ a b c d Baseel, Casey (2019-04-03). "4 era names the gov't rejected before deciding on Reiwa". Japan Today. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  10. ^ "新元号 ６案すべて判明 「令和」考案は中西進氏か" (in Japanese). NHK News Web. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  11. ^ "「令和」考案は中西進氏　古事記・日本書紀含め、3案が国書典拠" (in Japanese).
  12. ^ "Japan reveals name of new imperial era will be 'Reiwa'". BBC. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  13. ^ Yamaguchi, Mari (1 April 2019). "Japan says name for new era of Naruhito will be 'Reiwa'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  14. ^ "真字萬葉集卷第五雜歌0815". 天平二年正月十三日，萃于帥老大伴旅人之宅，申宴會也。于時，初春令月，氣淑風和。梅披鏡前之粉，蘭薰珮後之香。加以，曙嶺移雲，松掛羅而傾蓋，夕岫結霧，鳥封穀而迷林。庭舞新蝶，空歸故鴈。於是，蓋天坐地，促膝飛觴。忘言一室之裏，開衿煙霞之外。淡然自放，快然自足。若非翰苑，何以攄情。請紀落梅之篇，古今夫何異矣。宜賦園梅，聊成短詠。 {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  15. ^ "新元号「令和」　首相談話「花を大きく咲かせたい」". Nikkei (in Japanese). 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  16. ^ "Japan assures world that Reiwa is all about 'beautiful harmony' and has nothing to do with 'command'". The Japan Times. April 3, 2019.
  17. ^ Osaki, Tomohiro (1 April 2019). "Reiwa: Japan reveals name of new era ahead of Emperor's abdication". The Japan Times Online. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  18. ^ "新元号は「令和」（れいわ）　万葉集典拠、国書由来は初". Asahi News Digital (in Japanese). 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  19. ^ Zhang, Ao (2019-04-01). "日本新年号未出自中国典籍，中方怎么看？外交部这样回应". Global Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  20. ^ Ozawa, Satoshi (2019-04-01). "「日本が困難な時、万葉集がはやる」　令和は歴史的転換". Asahi News Digital (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  21. ^ "Japanese Literature Expert on New Era Name". NHK World Japan. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  22. ^ "Japan announces "Reiwa" as new era name to begin under new emperor". Xinhua. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  23. ^ "Japan's govt. chooses 'Reiwa' as new era name". NHK World Japan. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  24. ^ "「令和」の硬貨はいつ発行される？免許証、書類はどうなる… | ページ 2". bizSPA!フレッシュ (in Japanese). 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  25. ^ Lunde, Ken (1 April 2019). "Adobe-Japan1-7 Published!". CJK Type Blog. Adobe. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  26. ^ "New Japanese Era". The Unicode Blog. Unicode Consortium. 2018-09-06. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  27. ^ "Unicode 12.1.0". The Unicode Consortium. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
Look up 令和 in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Preceded by Era of Japan
Reiwa
expected to start on 1 May 2019 		Most recent
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